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Freedom Writer

Thirty new modular cabins to be built at Camp Davis

The University of Michigan's Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station in Wyoming will have 30 new cabins to accommodate 120 campers by the summer of 2019.

The $6.5 million project was approved by the university's Board of Regents during its meeting Thursday. Funding will be provided from LSA gifts and resources.

Each new modular cabin will be approximately 300 square feet and include a living-sleeping area and a bathroom with a shower. Each cabin accommodates four students.

The camp's Johnston Hall recreational facility, which was recently destroyed by a tree during a winter storm, will be replaced with a new, approximately 1,800-square-foot recreational facility. The new building will include open recreational space, restrooms and a laundry room.

The field station, established in 1929, is nestled in the mountains just south of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and serves as a research and teaching facility operated by the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

The 120-acre camp offers courses in geology, environmental science and the humanities. The facility also is used for academic conferences, alumni gatherings and guest programs.

The project includes required upgrades to the electrical, water supply and septic systems to support the new cabins and recreational hall. The scope of the project includes the architectural, electrical and mechanical work necessary to accomplish these improvements.

The architectural firm of Krikor Architecture will design the project, which is expected to provide an average of 15 on-site construction jobs.

The regents also authorized issuing bids and awarding construction contracts for the project. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.